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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24703504">I Hope To See You Again</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Rose/pseuds/The_Rose'>The_Rose</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Warcraft - All Media Types, World of Warcraft</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Burning Crusade timeline, Canon Divergent, Disabled Character, F/M, Legion timeline, Not quite a linear story, Protective Siblings, Tags to be added, Torture</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 10:02:33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>16,573</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24703504</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Rose/pseuds/The_Rose</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Illidan finally came back to life but he is still haunted by some decision he took back at the Black Temple.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jarod Shadowsong &amp; Maiev Shadowsong, Maiev Shadowsong/Illidan Stormrage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>33</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi! </p><p>I'm starting a new multi-chaptered fic with this one, it's mostly meant to be an angsty one and I hope you will like it!</p><p>Enjoy ;)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“I made my stance clear; I don’t want him here. Not now. Not later. Never!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The voice was muffled by the closed door. Illidan side-eyed it, sighing loudly before putting back his face in his arms, shielding himself with his wings as he was sitting against a wall. It had been around two hours since he came back to life, and it was hard to readjust to a physical body, especially that he could still feel the deadly blow of the Naaru all over his skin despite the years separating the events. He was also feeling dizzy from all the sensations his body screamed at him; and weak as it hadn’t been in use in years. But the worst was the regrets he had as he realized he was going to die. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>How did things go? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, I know,” calmly said Khadgar, in the hope to appease his interlocutor. “This is why we won’t start anything before a few days.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t care! You should never have brought him back to life! What is he doing here?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We had no choice. Gul’dan didn’t give us the time to think about it. We were either bringing him back, or it could have been something worst.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You could have destroyed his body.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It wasn’t a possibility at that moment,” sighed Khadgar.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, you had to do it,” conceded the other person. “But I want him out of this place! Send him back to the jail he belongs.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jarod! I know you have deep personal feelings about the situation, but we might need his help to fight the Legion and –”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know what he did to my sister! It was all his fault and I don’t want him here!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At the mention of Maiev, Illidan jumped a little and clutched on his arms. Drops of blood slid against his skin. He was more than aware of everything that had happened and he wasn’t sure he was ready to really face Jarod, especially after the look he gave him when they met a few minutes earlier. Khadgar was escorting him to the Violet Citadel, where Illidan would be able to rest but, most importantly, talk about the future and what it meant for the Betrayer to be back. But before they could enter the building, they found Jarod, laying against the door as he waited for Khadgar to know how the attack on the Nighthold went. But then, as he lay his eyes on Illidan, he glared at him with such anger that the hybrid never got to witness. Not even Maiev had looked at him like that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And since, Illidan had to listen to the brother’s rightful anger.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I know. But we still haven’t decided on what we’ll do with him and I had planned to talk with him about it,” continued Khadgar, staying calm. “He had been really cooperative since he came back, and we might need him to make sure the Illidari keep helping us. And we know he’s powerful and wants to take down the Legion. We can’t not use him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Khadgar! He’s a manipulative mastermind! He knows perfectly how to make you believe he’s needed and that you should only trust him, only to stab you in the back. Or worse.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Illidan was more than aware of the events Jarod was referencing. He knew what he was talking about, and for a moment, he thought of getting up and entering the room, ready to defend himself and explain to the other Night Elf why he was wrong, but he couldn’t do it. With all those years that had passed since he died, he actually had no idea what had been told about the Black Temple exactly. He wasn’t sure himself if his version was the right one, if he was remembering it correctly. If Maiev hadn’t changed her mind.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll be the judge of that,” Khadgar added. “But I’ll respect your wishes to keep him away from Maiev if this is what you want.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And how are you going to make do that?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I can always assign him an overseer who’ll make sure that he doesn’t get close to her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A silence followed the suggestion. Illidan straightened up, putting his back against the wall and slightly turned his head towards the door. He had expected to have some kind of bodyguard, it was even one of the subjects that Khadgar brought on their way to the Citadel, so it wasn’t bothering that much. But knowing he was going to be forbidden to do the one thing he had to with that second chance, it was hurting him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t trust anyone to do that,” finally said Jarod. “I’ll do it myself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Illidan had a faint smile. He knew the brother would say that. From that first look he gave him, Illidan had no doubts left that he would see him a lot. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine,” agreed Khadgar. “Now, I will need you to leave so I can talk to Illidan, and no offense to you, but it’ll be better if I can talk to him alone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hearing those words, Illidan quickly got back on his hooves. He stumbled a little and felt dizzy from the suddenness of the movement, but he couldn’t let it show how weak he was feeling currently. The last words from Jarod got lost in the dizziness and suddenly, the door opened, showing the other Night Elf. Illidan tried to smirk, to put on his usual confident front, but in front of him, he couldn’t do it and instead, he lowered his head and tried to avoid his sight. He still felt the anger burning on his skin from his eyes, and he knew that if Jarod had been a Demon Hunter, Illidan would have been killed in eye-beamed at that very moment. Then, the brother went to lay against the wall, far from Illidan, and he crossed his arms, still trying to kill him with his eyes. Illidan kept the head low as he entered the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please, sit down,” invited Khadgar. “I’m sorry for Jarod. I had no idea he would be there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t expecting him either,” admitted Illidan as he sat on a chair. “But I’m not surprised.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Khadgar raised an eyebrow as he put himself against the back of the chair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So…Does it means that what he told me is true?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Illidan had a hollow chuckle at those words and looked away before answering.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know what he told you exactly, and I don’t want to know actually. But from what I heard; it sounds like he had a good grasp on the story. But I’ll respect his wish to not get close to Maiev, not speak to her and anything. Anyway, I thought we were there to talk about the invasion of the Legion?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He quickly changed the subject. No matter what he did, he did it in full awareness of the consequences and would do the same again, albeit making a few changes to it. But as he knew that he wouldn’t even be able to say a single word to Maiev, he preferred to concentrate on the fight against the Legion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I heard your concern about the Illidari, and I understand it,” he continued. “Some of them will fight, whether or not I have a word in it. But others might want my approval. Even if to be perfectly honest with you, I would only need to show up, tell them to listen to you, and it’ll be good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s something I thought of,” admitted Khadgar. “But we won’t only need the support of the Illidari. It’s well known that you mostly fought the Legion in your life and that you must have way more knowledge than a lot of us. Without speaking of the fact that you also know about the Legion from the inside.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Archmage vaguely moved his hand to show Illidan’s body.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And to be honest, besides Jarod who’s very adamant about sending you to the other side of the planet, not a lot of people talked against your inclusion in your troops. Even Velen, who confirmed to me that he will take the role of commandant in the Army of Legionfall, told me he didn’t have any problems with you helping us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Illidan’s ears straightened up as he opened wide his eyes. He hadn’t expected people to not want him dead again right away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are there other peoples that are against me joining your forces?” He enquired.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, the Wardens technically, but with Cordana’s betrayal and the attack on the Vault, that led to Maiev’s disappearance for a few weeks, they’re trying to put back a semblance of order within their ranks, so they haven’t really spoken against you. But they work closely with Jarod.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No need to add anything then,” Illidan muttered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“To be honest with you, and please, don’t repeat it to Jarod, we did consider bringing you back to life before we attacked the Nighthold. It wasn’t really an accident. Not only did we need to secure your body so Sargeras couldn’t take it, but your personal knowledge of the Legion couldn’t be lost, especially in our current situation,” explained Khadgar. “I went there, perfectly knowing we were either bringing you back, either destroying your body. In case of an emergency.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks,” whispered Illidan, surprised that his return had been actually planned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re also planning, with Velen, to make you one of the commandants of Legionfall. And with Jarod assigning himself as your overseer, he cannot go against that decision. He already accepted the job and he won’t be able to look after you if you can walk around freely. So, the best choice is to keep you close to us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Khadgar had a small mischievous smile and Illidan mimicked him with a smirk.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t have expected you to be that kind of person Archmage.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, not a lot of people expect it,” replied the Archmage, all mischief now faded from his face. “So, do you accept to lead the counterattack with Velen, Jarod, and myself?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I don’t know why you would trust me right away, but I will prove to you that you aren’t making a mistake.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Glad to hear that,” said Khadgar, getting up and reached his hand to Illidan.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The demon did the same and shook hands with the Archmage, sealing the deal of their cooperation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I will have to leave you in the hands of Jarod now. Do not speak to him about your new roles, I will do it tomorrow. Obviously, respect his wish to not get close to Maiev, I have no doubts he will try to kill you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t have them either, and I don’t really have another choice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With those words, he turned around and went to grab the doorknob, only to be interrupted by Khadgar before he could open the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If I trust you, it’s because I personally talked with Maiev.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Illidan almost smiled at those words but quickly lowered his head again as he left the room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Days had passed and they had taken a headquarter on the Broken Shore, naming it Deliverance Point. The counterattack immediately started and days after days, adventurers were swarming in and out of the place, always ready to fight and doing every they could to retake the place. The Tomb of Sargeras was looming on the horizon, a grim reminder of the last time they tried to attack the place for most adventurers, but Illidan had different memories from it. He could still remember the day he went in there to put his hands over the Eye of Sargeras, and how he killed countless of Wardens, but Maiev. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Illidan quickly looked away from the building and just watched the adventurers coming and leaving the place, their only concern being the demons that the Tomb was throwing at them. He sighed a little and cleared his throat, realizing that he was actually dry. With a quick look on the side, he saw Jarod, standing next to him, looking pride but with a wave of untold anger in his eyes, and thankfully, not busy at that moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jarod, sorry to bother you,” Illidan began, hiding the sarcasm as he had learned from the very first minutes that the other Elf wouldn’t accept anything else than politeness from him. “But could we go to the resting area? I would like to take a drink.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>On the other side, Illidan could feel both Velen and Khadgar shaking their head and sighing with how he was talking. But as they hadn’t been physically threatened, Illidan knew they couldn’t really understand, and anyway, as long as it allowed him to stay for the fight, and somewhat close to Maiev, he was ready for anything. He still hadn’t seen her, but he knew she was there. Some Wardens were coming to talk to Jarod, sometimes replacing him as the babysitter, and he had no doubt that he was going to see his sister. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright,” Jarod groaned. “But make it quick.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” simply replied Illidan as they began to walk towards the resting area.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They walked in silence, mostly because Jarod had been clear that he didn’t want to talk to him, only to keep an eye on him. And even when Illidan tried to start a conversation on the first days, he quickly hurt himself on a wall and finally decided against it, only talking to him to mention he wanted to move somewhere else. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But as they reached the area, a shining sight caught his eyes and he stopped walking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maiev, wearing her Warden armor, was walking right towards them. Sira was at her side, talking to her as they held arms, and when she saw Illidan and Jarod, she quickly moves a little on the side, getting away from them, and kept Maiev’s attention on her. Before he could do anything, Illidan felt the knife on his throat and when he tried to swallow, he felt the sharpness of the weapon on his skin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t move. Don’t say a thing. Don’t even dare to do anything,” the knife was saying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And Illidan had no other choice but to listen. He stayed still, not moving at all as the two wardens walked past them, Maiev only nodding about whatever Sira was telling her about their training and Illidan regretted not to be able to hear her voice. But he also knew that if he did anything, he would die at that exact moment. The two women were finally out of sight, and Illidan felt a hand on his back, pushing him. The knife had disappeared from his throat and he could finally breathe.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Keep going,” muttered Jarod.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Silent, Illidan listened and began to walk again. But he wasn’t really aware of his surroundings anymore. The confirmation that Maiev was indeed alive and well, freed him from a weight that had been keeping him from sleeping since he came back, and even if seeing that armor again was really surprising, he was almost glad to see her wearing it. In some way, he had been also been happy that Jarod reacted first and made sure he couldn’t do anything, as he was sure that if he went to take her in his arms, she would have killed him anyway. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do that every time she walks by, and I might give you more freedom,” Jarod added as they reached the little shop.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Illidan raised an eyebrow but quickly felt that the knife was back on his skin, this time on his side, as a way to tell him that the freedom wouldn’t really be one. Just that Jarod wouldn’t be walking on his shadows constantly, but that he would still be there, watching him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It will be nice of you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The knife left his skin and Illidan got to buy some water, allowing them to go back to the main area, where the counterattack was being led. But Illidan couldn’t concentrate anymore. He knew he made the promise to stay away from Maiev, but now that he had seen her, he had to see her again. Not necessarily talking to her, nor touching her. But he had to watch her. To be sure she was really well. To know if she was really well despite all those years.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He would probably risk his life, but he knew what he was going to do the next morning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Quickly looking at Jarod from the side of his eyes, Illidan hoped that he was more of a heavy sleeper and that he wasn’t the kind to assist the morning Warden’s training, that Sira was talking about a little earlier. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then, he smiled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The cold morning wind was blowing his hair away and he almost shivered from it, so he put his wings in front of him to shield him. Sneezing wasn’t a good idea currently. The sun was barely making an appearance on the horizon, slowly bathed the place with dim sunlight, not bothering the Wardens in the slightest. Illidan was sitting above the training ground of Deliverance Point, on a cliff that allowed him to not be seen from the place, and the Wardens were in the middle of the ground, placing fighting dummies in different places. Maiev was standing out from the group, thanks to her unique armor, and her crescent was already swinging in front of her. As he watched them settling the place, he felt the cold metal against his neck and he sighed, lowering his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m just watching,” he said out loud. “She doesn’t know I’m here and I haven’t talked to her. Put down the knife please.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t have the right to be there,” retorted Jarod.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know… But I had to see her. I’m still respecting your wish to stay away from her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jarod took back his knife from his neck and sat down next to him, well decided to not let him out of his sight again. Under them, the training had started. The Wardens were moving the dummies around, carefully hiding behind them, as Maiev stayed in the middle. Quickly, she turned around, throwing knives around, hitting every one of them. Each time she did, the Warden moving it was shouting “Hit!” and then, seemingly out of nowhere, every knife was pulled back towards Maiev, only for her to grab them and reuse them again and again. Suddenly, she put away the knives and her crescent began to swing around her. Tied to a chain, she was throwing away the crescent, cutting into the dummies as she made circles around her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Illidan straightened up as he looked at it, and for a moment, he saw her in the middle of a sea of demons, using that crescent that she could throw around, keeping them away while slaying them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>If only she had it at that time…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m glad she can fight again…” Illidan whispered, more to himself than to engage the conversation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yet, Jarod groaned and answered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She did it only because –” Jarod groaned a little more as it hurt him to say those words. “– To be able to protect your body.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Illidan couldn’t even smile at those words, and instead, kept looking at Maiev slicing the dummies with her deadly flying crescent. The Wardens were cheering on their leader and their voices faintly echo to the two men. Some were looking at them, happy to see that Jarod was there, but mostly worried about Illidan, so, the women were doing everything they could to keep Maiev concentrated on the training. Sira even made a big movement, telling them to move away. But Illidan couldn’t leave yet. He couldn’t even leave on his own. His legs were refusing to work.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jarod,” he said, his voice and hands shaking. “Listen, I know I said I wouldn’t talk to her but –”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A punch in the face interrupted him, sending him face-first in the dirt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t even dare!” Warned Jarod, standing up over him, ready to keep fighting. “I won’t let you hurt her ever again, and even less manipulate her as you did! You disgust me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have all the right to believe whatever you want and I won’t deny anything that I could have done, as you clearly already made up your mind about me,” said Illidan, sadness tainting his voice. “But I need to talk to her at least once.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You have nothing to tell her,” decided Jarod.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I do! I need to excuse myself! It won’t change anything, I know that. But I need to tell her that I’m sorry. Especially with how it ended.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He slowly got up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t even imagine how she must have felt… I don’t even know how she is still alive. I’m happy that she is. But it’s not thanks to me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jarod only glared at him, refusing to say a single word.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But I still have to tell her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She doesn’t even know you’re alive,” retorted Jarod. “We told her we put back your body in the Violet Hold.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But…What will happen when she discovers that you lied to her?” began Illidan, suddenly realizing that Jarod made a mistake. “You won’t be able to hide that fact constantly. What if some adventurers talk about me when they cross her? A Warden might let it slip. You could let it slip. And what will happen when it happens?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Illidan took a quick break to breathe deeply.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You clearly did everything you could to protect her since the Black Temple, probably going against her own wishes because you think you know what’s best for her. And even then, you’re hiding the fact that I’m alive in hope to protect her. But if she discovers that it’s all a lie? That you lied to her?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’ll understand I did for her. I saw what you did to her and I know you still have a grasp over her mind and I won’t let you take it back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Illidan quickly looked at the training ground. The Wardens were taking a break, talking about the training in itself along to preparing a little breakfast. He noticed that Maiev was removing her helmet but he couldn’t see her face from that far, especially that she was showing him his back. And as he looked at how the place was made, with the cliff they were standing on, and the training ground down there, he realized that he could probably give away his presence to Maiev. If he were to “accidentally” fall from the cliff, it would be heard, and he had no doubt that Maiev would be one of the first people to come to see what had happened. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Listen, Jarod, I will be extremely serious. I don’t want to hurt Maiev anymore, but she deserves to know some things, especially on why I disappeared like that,” he was saying, slowly moving to the edge of the cliff. “So, either you allow me to talk to her, in your condition, and after that, I leave her alone forever. Either I take that matter in my own hand and in the next ten seconds, she knows I’m here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With those words, he spread his wings on his back to keep his balance as he rocked on the edge of the cliff, decided to force Jarod into choosing one solution. But either way, Illidan was winning. The brother glared deadly at him, perfectly understanding what the plan of the demon was, and that he had no other choice but to allow Illidan to do what he wanted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And Khadgar wanted to give you the benefit of doubt…” growled Jarod. “I always knew you never cared about her and only wanted to do what you want to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He took off a knife and walked to Illidan, putting it right under his nose.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine! I’ll allow you to speak once with her this afternoon. But I will be there, and if I hear something that I don’t like, I will kill you. And if you ever dare to play that trick on me ever again, I will also kill you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then, he grabbed Illidan by a horn and threw him away from the cliff. Under them, some Wardens were looking, trying to prepare themselves for any catastrophe that could have happened if Illidan were to fall on the ground. Jarod quickly made a sign that everything was under control, and they left the sight of the women. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Illidan smiled a little, but as Jarod punched him again, he stopped.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In front of him, Maiev’s tent was closed and no light was coming from it, despite that she was inside. Next to him, Jarod was standing still, hands closed in fists and shaking. On their way, he had warned Illidan that he wouldn’t hesitate to intervene if he was thinking that something was going wrong. But Illidan couldn’t care less at that moment. How many years had really passed? What happened after his death? How could Maiev survive? What did she think about it? What would be her reaction once he’ll talk?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m coming back.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was his last words to her. And he didn’t.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Taking a deep breath, he slowly opened the tent to slid in it and he stayed still in the entrance. It was a tent made to be lived in, not just sleeping, and Maiev was there, sitting at the desk. Her armor was still on but for her gauntlets and helmet. She had a paper on the desk, on which she was sliding her fingers on, probably reading a report from someone. Maybe a false report on how his body was in Dalaran. Her hair was falling in front of her face, long white strands that weren’t really bothering her. Finally, she pushed back some of those strands behind her hair, showing the blindfold crossing her face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The fabric of the tent fell back on the ground, making a muffled sound, and immediately, Maiev stood up and groaned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think I’ve been clear, if you don’t want a knife in your heart, you announce yourself before entering!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turned her head towards the entrance. Despite the blindfold, she was clearly looking angry, but she was also trying to hide that she had been scared by the sudden noise. Illidan raised his hand, but he couldn’t even say a word.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Identify yourself or die,” she threatened as she swung a knife in front of her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And Illidan knew he couldn’t go back. He cleared his throat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maiev…,” he said, trying to stay calm. “It’s me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The knife dropped on the floor. Her face contracted as if she was going to cry and all of her body began to shake. Of course, Illidan only wanted to run to her and take her in his arms, but the thought of Jarod keeping an eye on them was enough to stop him. Instead, Maiev stumbled a little, trying to push the chair away, and finally, she threw herself in his arms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, by Elune,” she was whispering. “Illidan? Is it really you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But he didn’t have to say anything, her hands were already on his face, gently caressing him and confirming it. He embraced her and he felt that she was still shaking in his arms. No words could escape his throat and instead, he gently pushed her away and used one his hand to cup her face. She smiled at the touch. He smiled back and slowly, moved his hands to the blindfold, and carefully, pulled it up. Only confirming what he already knew.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked at him with the two empty eye sockets.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I haven’t gotten them back,” she tried to joke.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The only physical scars left from the Black Temple.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sadness washed over his face and he embraced her again, this time it was him who was shaking from a cry he couldn’t let out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry Maiev.”</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Next chapter, we're going back in Burning Crusade and the Black Temple to see what really happened ;)</p><p>PS: The title is said by Maiev.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Don't be surprised, we are going back to the Black Temple to see what happened there and slowly, we'll go back to the first chapter ;)</p>
<p>Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She slowly opened her eyes and suddenly bolted awake, jumping on her feet, ready to fight, but when she tried to grab her crescent, she saw it, taunting her from the other side of the bars. And Illidan between them.</p>
<p>“Let me go! You bastard!” she screamed as she launched herself against the bars, trying to catch him with her hands. “What have you done to my troops?!”</p>
<p>“I killed them all,” he only replied.</p>
<p>His tone was calm, but Maiev could hear the anger dwelling just under the surface, ready to explode at any moment.</p>
<p>“How dare you?! I will kill you!”</p>
<p>As she kept trying to grab him, he retaliated by catching her wrist and then, pulled her until her armor clashed against the bar. She couldn’t use her arm, as Illidan’s hold was too strong, and when she tried to put her other arms hands through the bars and aim for his throat, he grabbed the other wrists and completely immobilized her against the bars. She thought of kicking him but he didn’t give her the time to do anything else.</p>
<p>“Shut up Maiev,” he growled, his voice low so she would be the only one to hear him. “I’ve been nice enough to let you run around the Outland, but now that’s over. You should have stayed on Azeroth instead of foolishly following me.”</p>
<p>“You need to be stopped,” she replied, spitting the words. “You’re crazy and death can only save you now.”</p>
<p>“You cannot stop me. You will only kill yourself doing that, and that’s why I decided to imprison you. To save you from yourself.”</p>
<p>Maiev laughed, loud and uncontrollably.</p>
<p>“You’re even crazier than I thought,” she finally said as the laughing calmed. “Do you even listen to yourself? You always been the one responsible for the danger I run into, and only your death will protect me, if this is what you really want.”</p>
<p>“You don’t understand,” he sighed as he released her wrists. “Anyway, you won’t leave that cage until I destroyed the Legion, then I’ll free you. Enjoy your stay and don’t worry, I put the exact same spells that were on mine in Barrows Deep, nothing can happen to you.”</p>
<p>“Illidan!” she screeched one last time as he moved away. “Release me! Or your death will be even more painful!”</p>
<p>But the hybrid left the little room, not even replying. When he got out, he looked at Akama, and a Dreadlord named Vagath, who were both standing outside, waiting for his orders. Illidan already knew that despite the spells, he wanted Maiev to have the basic necessities, like how she cared for him back in Barrows Deep, and he had to assign her an overseer, as he couldn’t do it himself if he wanted to train his Illidari and plan the downfall of the Legion. He was thinking about asking Akama to do that, as he had would control over the Broken, but at the same time, a little voice told him that he could still try to betray him, and with how Maiev seemed to hate him at that moment, it wasn’t a good idea. So, Illidan turned to the Dreadlord.</p>
<p>“Vagath, I want you to watch over the Warden,” he simply said before turning to the Broken. “Akama, you come with me, we need to prepare the plans for the next attack.”</p>
<p>“Yes, Lord Illidan,” he replied as he already began to leave.</p>
<p>“I will do as asked, Lord Illidan,” Vagath quickly said before Illidan could leave. “But, may I ask, my Lord, why do you let such an inferior creature talking to you like that?”</p>
<p>With those words, he pointed towards the room where Maiev was imprisoned.</p>
<p>“She’s like that, we cannot change it. Now, just do your job right, I might not come back before some time.”</p>
<p>“Of course, you are busy taking down the Legion,” bowed Vagath. “It’ll be with pleasure that I’ll take that weight off your back.”</p>
<p>Illidan simply nodded and turned around to leave the underground prison. Meanwhile, in her cell, Maiev was sitting on the ground, her head in her hands, and her helmet on the ground next to her. She was shaking as the memories of the attack on Guldan’s Hand finally came back to her. How she saw everyone dies in front of her, killed by those abominations that were the Fel Orcs, and suddenly, Illidan was next to her. But before she could do anything, he put his hand over her head, and she got knocked out by a spell.</p>
<p>Only to wake up in that cell.</p>
<p>She wanted to cry. Why would she survive again? Why couldn’t she die with her troops? Even when her Wardens followed her in the Tomb of Sargeras, as she was herself following Illidan, the building began to drown back into the sea. They were stuck and they had nowhere to go. As she saw the first Wardens being taken away by the flood, she gave up. She stopped fighting and waited for the sweet release of death. But before the water reached her, she felt something grab her and she lost consciousness. When she woke up, she was on a shore.</p>
<p>Alive and alone.</p>
<p>Once again, her right to a righteous death in the heat of a battle got taken away from her. She had enough, but yet, she couldn’t die until she had avenged all of the fallen at the hand of Illidan.</p>
<p>The sound of footsteps made her look to the side, only to see the Dreadlord entering the room. She glared deadly at him as she got up. No way she would let anyone, especially not a demon, see her like that.</p>
<p>“Keep looking at me like that,” she growled at the demon. “And I’ll gouge your eyes.”</p>
<p>“Oh please, I only follow Lord Illidan’s orders,” he replied as he smiled.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Illidan looked around, watching every movement that the Demon Hunters were doing, analyzing them in hope to catch the glimpse of a demon winning over the elf before it’s too late. He had applied a tolerance zero policy, and any Demon Hunters who couldn’t contain their inner demon were bound to be killed on sight. They couldn’t afford to let those dangers roam freely in his army. But that day, everything seemed alright and he quickly dismissed the training as the night was falling.</p>
<p>Patrolling around the Temple, he looked at the outside world that was Shadowmoon until his eyes locked in the Warden’s Cage, the place he had imprisoned Maiev. Not inside the Temple, in case she would find a way out, as he had no doubts she would kill everything on her way to him; but also close enough so he wouldn’t risk his life going there to see her. Yet, a month and a half had already passed since he imprisoned her, and he hadn’t found the time to visit her in that prison.</p>
<p>He couldn’t understand the Warden, and even less why she couldn’t understand him. She had seemed so offended when he told her that he was only protecting her. He would have thought that after ten thousand years where she had been the only one to really care about him, she would have understood that he was only doing the same. During all his time imprisoned in Barrows Deep, she had been the only face he had seen. The only voice he heard. The only smile. Not even Tyrande nor his brother showed up in ten thousand years.</p>
<p>His fist met with the wall next to him.</p>
<p>He winced and moved away his hands, shaking it to get rid of the pain as he looked at the almost hole that he had made from those memories. Slowly, he began to breathe. It wasn’t the time to get angry over the past. Neither Malfurion nor Tyrande had wanted to see him while he had been imprisoned, by their own orders, fine! At least, he had Maiev, and it was all that mattered. Even if he knew that there was pity in her eyes, she still came and helped him have a better life than it could have been in prison, and now, he was doing the inverse by not even finding the time to see her.</p>
<p>He needed her by his side. Alive and safe. If she wasn’t there, he felt that there would be not coming back to his Kaldorei roots, Maiev was the last person in the entirety of the Great Dark Beyond that could keep him sane. Of course, he couldn’t understand why she was so adamant in killing him, but now, she couldn’t get hurt trying to do that. After all, he already had to save her a few times, while making sure that nothing could distract her from him anymore. It started with the Tomb of Sargeras when he put it back in the water. He couldn’t care less that the Wardens would die, he even wanted them to, but when he saw Maiev giving up, he intervened. Grabbing her before the flood could take her, he carried her out and dropped her on the nearest shore. After all, he still had Dalaran waiting for him. Then, it started again with the Guldan’s Hand. Thankfully, he needed souls for his machine, so there was a good reason to trick her into coming with her own personal army. Then, once the fight had begun, he simply took her out by himself and finally, put her in safety.</p>
<p>She couldn’t get hurt anymore and she would stay by his side.</p>
<p>Now that he was thinking about it, maybe that after a month and a half, she would have changed her mind and finally understood that he was only doing that for her. Maybe he could even afford to let her out of the prison. And thus, he decided that he would go and see her that night.</p>
<p>Happily whistling, he began to walk through the Black Temple, making his way toward the entrance. He didn’t even need to warn anyone of what he was doing, and it felt like real freedom to him. But then, he got interrupted.</p>
<p>“Ah, Lord Illidan! Perfect timing!”</p>
<p>He turned around, looking at the demon coming towards him.</p>
<p>Vagath had a really bright smile.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi! </p>
<p>Here's the weekly update. Enjoy and sorry!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>The underground prison was quiet, with only an occasional drop of water falling on the ground, echoing through the tunnels composing the jailing complex. Not even a footstep could be heard, even less in the lower part, where only one criminal had been imprisoned, cut from everything else. And yet, Illidan chuckled as his hand went through the bar of his cell, grabbed a spawn, and moved it on the chessboard, taking away an enemy piece and laughing about it. On the other side, Maiev groaned and carefully studied the board, as she had been too eager to move that piece and now, she had lost it. She couldn’t be charging ahead constantly and she had to learn to be more careful if she wanted to finally win the game.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“I was wondering,” said Illidan, breaking the silence between them. “How long had it been since I last saw Malfurion, or Tyrande?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>It wasn’t surprising Maiev that he was losing the sense of time, locked away in the depths of the prison. But what surprised her, was that he asked after his brother and Tyrande. Taking a spawn in her hands, she moved it on the board, checking Illidan’s piece to make sure she wasn’t making a mistake, and she sighed.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“About three thousand years.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>As Illidan was going to reach the board for his turn, he frowned and hesitated, and Maiev had no idea if this was about the years, or about the game.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“And how long have I been imprisoned?” he finally asked, retreating his hand.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>It was the question that Maiev was fearing the most, but here they were and she had no other choice but to answer truthfully.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“About three thousand years,” she let out, looking up discreetly to check his reaction.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Illidan stayed silent, yet she could see his hands clenched into fists as he slowly made the realization that they had completely abandoned him to his fate. Maiev had never wanted to be the one to have to tell Illidan, but she didn’t want to lie to him. As awful as his action had been during the War, he wasn’t deserving to be locked in an underground cage for the rest of his life, it was just plain torture. At least, her idea of just executing him was merciful, but in the end, she wasn’t the one to choose. And now, her priestess training was forcing her to take care of him and refusing to let him rot in that cell alone for only Elune knew how long.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>At worst, if he was proving to her that he had some redeeming qualities and was showing remorse about his actions, maybe she could alleviate his sentence. After all, it wasn’t like the new leaders of the Kaldorei were caring about him anymore.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Finally, Illidan moved again a piece of the game, telling Maiev that they were back to it, and she sighed of relief discreetly. Taking her turn, she succeeded in taking down one of his pieces, but he was unfazed and kept playing, losing a few pieces to Maiev until he spoke again.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“You’re nice,” he stated, looking at her.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Maiev repressed her snort, believing that he must have forgotten that she had been the one advocating for his death.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Thanks,” she still replied with a smile.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“I mean it,” added Illidan. “And when I’ll get out of here, I’ll make sure that nothing happens to you.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“First, I’m sorry to tell you that, but you won’t get out, it’s my job to make sure that your sentence will be fulfilled,” she sighed. “And second, “that nothing happens to me”? What do you mean by that?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’ll take my revenge,” he said and she felt his eyes burning through the blindfold. “But you will be safe. To thank you.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Maiev frowned at those words. Once again, Illidan was talking about taking his revenge over the people who had imprisoned him and called him the Betrayer, his own peoples. This was also one of the reasons why she was doubting she could ever free him herself. Especially that the longer he would stay there, the crazier he would become, but it was already too late to calm him down. It wasn’t the first time he was talking about revenge, but the first time he was clearly telling that Maiev wouldn’t be one of the targets of his wrath.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Your turn,” she simply said, decided to pretend that the conversation didn’t happen.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Vagath,” acknowledged Illidan, looking at the dreadlord walking towards him. “I thought I asked you to watch over the Warden.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And I did, my Lord,” he bowed. “But while I was doing that, I got the idea for a little surprise. A gift if you will. To show you how grateful I am that you gave me a place in your army and trusted me with such responsibilities.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He kept bowing as he made a little break in his speech, coming right to his main objectives.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And with the hope that you would trust me with even more responsibilities in the future,” he smiled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I had plans for the evening, so I hope that this “gift” of yours will be worth my time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, do not worry. With such a gift, you will quickly change your plans for tonight,” reassured the demon.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Illidan raised an eyebrow at that mention. As if anything was going to distract him from going to talk with Maiev. But as he decided that he still had some time before going to the Warden’s Cage, he couldn’t see why he wouldn’t accept to check on that gift that the dreadlord was talking about. He was actually really curious to know what it was, but he knew he couldn’t let it show if he wanted to be a feared and respected leader.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Very well, Vagath,” Illidan finally said, looking at the demon. “Show me that gift.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You won’t regret it”, claimed the demon as he took the lead.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a barely contained joy, the demon walked first, guiding Illidan through the Black Temple as he knew that his plan was perfect, and that by the end of the night, he was most likely being promoted and he couldn’t wait. There was no way that anything would go wrong, and he had put way too much effort into that plan for it to fail. And anyway, why would Illidan refuse his gift?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As they reached the Den of Mortal Delights, Illidan contained his groan and hoped that the gift wasn’t once again a blood elf offering their body in exchange for a better job. Ever since, he had welcomed them in the Temple and offered that place as a way to thank most of the Sin’dorei who refused to follow Kael’thas’ betrayal, everyone was trying to get in his pants, thinking it was a direct way to a higher rank. He wondered how many times he would have to remind people that it wouldn’t work like that. And when the dreadlord finally stopped in front of a door, Illidan tried to not groan out loud.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Vagath, I’m warning you. If there’s a naked blood elf behind that door, you will fall down from your rank faster than an Infernal’s meteor.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh no, no, no,” laughed the dreadlord. “That’s even better.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Same thing if this is a Succubus or a Shivarra.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I promise you it is none of them, but I will hope you’ll enjoy it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He quickly added that he was going back to his current duty and that he would be found in the Warden’s Cage if Illidan needed his service again. It reminded the Betrayer of his initial plan for the evening, and he decided to quickly open the door, tell whoever was behind it to put back some clothes and have more dignity than that, then he would make his way to the prison and meet with Maiev.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Opening the door, he was expecting anything, and yet, as he stepped inside, he had been forced to stop in place. It wasn’t a blood elf, but it was an elf anyway. Her rosy skin and white hair, carefully untied to fall all over her body, were strangely clean and bright. A brand-new set of Sin’dorei’s underwear was covering her breast and crotch, while an elegant piece of cloth was crossing her face, blindfolding her. She was laying on her back, supported by a stack of cushions and her wrists were bound by a handcuff, itself linked to the floor above her head that would allow to pine her arms away. And her ankles were also handcuffed, directly to the floor. Finally, a piece of cloth over her mouth prevented her from saying anything.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Illidan’s heart skipped a beat as he contemplated Maiev, completely vulnerable, and he realized he had never seen her like that. She wasn’t moving, but for some kind of spasm when the position was becoming really uncomfortable. Unable to say anything, Illidan stumbled to her, the storm of his thought unable to shut up as he tried to understand the situation. What was Maiev doing here? Where was her armor? Why would she be handcuffed and blindfolded? How could she allow herself to appear in such a manner? He had never seen her without her armor, but for one time, and yet, she had never been seen with so little clothes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Somewhere in his mind, he already had all the answers to those questions.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He reached her, still unable to talk, and slowly, he brought a shaking hand to her own. But as soon as he brushed over it, not even touching her completely, she flinched and tried to get away with a muffled scream. Immediately, Illidan removed his hand and looked at her, shocked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maiev was scared.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For the first time since he met her, Maiev was legitimately scared and afraid and Illidan wasn’t understanding it. It couldn’t be possible, why would she end up like that? How? He had promised to protect her, to save her from his wrath. So why did it look like he had failed?! She should have been untouched! He should have been the one to get her out of the cell!</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Still shaking, Illidan went over her face and removed the cloth over her mouth, only wishing to hear an insult coming from her lips. That it was just an illusion and that she was still the Warden, the fearless fighter who dared to follow him to Outland just to imprison him back. But no words got out, instead, she whimpered as she was shaking and extremely tensed, as if she was expecting to be hit at any time. When he tried to hold her arm, in a way to calm her, Maiev tried to curl over herself but the handcuffs were preventing her from doing it, and she stayed still, the terror written over her face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Noticing the key of the handcuff hanging on a pole next to the cushions, Illidan grabbed it and quickly used it to open them, freeing Maiev for good. But she still didn’t move and instead, curled on herself, trying to protect her head from invisible attackers. Once again, Illidan was unable to speak at all, each word that he could have said blocking in his throat and he was completely lost. What could he do? He was feeling that if he was putting a hand on her body, she would shatter right away. But what really shattered, was him when he realized that it had been all his fault.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He should have never imprisoned her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Getting up, he looked sadly at her and leaned forward to grab one of her hands. Despite that he was expecting her to fight back and push away his hand, she not only let him touch her, but once he softly pulled to help her on her feet, she followed. She was still shaking and he could see that she didn’t want any of this, yet, she began to walk behind him as he pulled her. It was at that moment that he realized that she had been trained to obey. Noticing that he still hadn’t taken the blindfold out, he decided to let it on her face until she would get rid of it herself. As far as he knew, she had no idea that it was him, and now, he was scared of her reaction if she was seeing that it was him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Leaving the room, he began to guide her through the hallways of the Temple, using a shortcut to reach the room that he was using for himself, having no better ideas where to bring her. At his side, she wasn’t talking at all, even shivering from the cold as she was practically naked, but what bothered him the most, was that blindfold that she was still not taking off. He didn’t want to see what kind of look she would give him, but as a drop of sweat rolled down his spine, he had to know.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why don’t take off the blindfold,” he grunted, lowering his voice so she wouldn’t recognize him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She flinched at the words and brought a hand over the cloth instinctively, but put it down as fast as she reacted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s useless,” she whispered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before he could ask what it meant, his own hand was on her face, gently cupping her cheek and he moved it up, sliding a claw under the cloth as he pulled it to watch her face. And like he had feared, she had no eyes anymore and instead, it was two empty eye-sockets. Not even a trace of fel fire from a spectral sight. Maiev was completely blind.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Without realizing it, he clenched his hands over her face, his claws digging through her face, and yet, she didn’t react but for her face contracting from the pain. As soon as he saw it, Illidan removed his hand and looked at the blood dripping from it, perfectly knowing that Maiev would have never let him go that far before that day. As his blood began to boil, he pulled the door of his room open and helped Maiev to get inside. Reaching the bed, he made her sit on it as he kneeled in front of her, gently holding her hand and caressing her face, brushing away the blood.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re safe,” he whispered, still using that modified voice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And just with those words, her entire body began to cry and by reflex, Illidan grabbed her and hugged her, doing everything he could to not hurt her more than she already was. They were going to pay. He was going to make them pay. There wouldn’t be any rest for him until they were all sent back in the Twisting Nether to never get out of it again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His vengeance was going to be terrible.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Slowly, he backed off from the hug, clutching on her hands one last time. Then, he left her alone and went for the door, knowing the night was far from being over for him. But as he opened it, making noises, Maiev spoke.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Illidan?!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was panicking, calling after him. Being afraid to be alone again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looked at her, a faint smile for the fact that he had failed to hide his identity, but he quickly dropped it as he turned away. They couldn’t afford to see the next morning, and Illidan had to do it himself. Using his usual voice, he just told her four words before closing the door between them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m coming back.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And it concludes "I Hope To See You Again" for 2020 (unless I find an idea for a bonus chapter in the calendar). We'll take back the story in 2021 and I promise to update more of it!</p>
<p>See you next week!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi!</p><p>We're taking back with this story, just be warned that this chapter more likely contains descriptions of torture and gruesome killing, so be careful if you read it and that you are sensitive to those subjects. </p><p>Anyway, I hope you'll like it and see you next week for something completely different with a new chapter for "Parental Instinct".</p><p>Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The sound of the stomping hooves made everyone jump out of Illidan’s way, but it wasn’t only that, as when the sound was catching their attention and they were looking at the source, they knew they had to move if they didn’t want to die. He was bigger than never before, his skin smoking with a pitch-black color, and the tattoos were pulsing with vivid green light. Each one of his steps was leaving a burnt hoof print on the ground, and a really deep and bestial growl could be heard emanating from the hybrid.</p><p>No one dared to stay on his way as Illidan left the Black Temple.</p><p>Stepping in the Shadowmoon Valley, he spread his wings and quickly took off, flying right towards the prison where Maiev had been initially imprisoned, and not even a few minutes after leaving the place, he landed on the top of the prison. At the impact, the ground shook to its core, and Vagath, along with the few demons that helped him, looked up and furrowed their eyebrows, but quickly went back to their conversation. Outside, Illidan glanced at his hands, still fully black from the metamorphosis and as he realized that his intents were too clear for his plan, he took a deep breath and concentrated to hide his anger under a calm disguise. After all, he still hadn’t decided about the exact punishment that those demons would experience, and he was giving them a chance to make it less painful than what he had planned at first. Adjusting his hair and trying his best to fake a smile, Illidan moved underground to meet with the dreadlord.</p><p>Down there, Vagath was waiting, talking, and laughing with other random demons, all wanting only one thing: Getting a higher rank in Illidan’s army. So, when Vagath approached them with the idea of breaking the heinous Warden to please their Lord, they jumped on the occasion, and soon, they had been a dozen of demons ready to make her regret to have looked wrong at Illidan only once. And it was with a slight surprise that Illidan noticed that the dreadlord hadn’t been alone in his plan, as he hadn’t authorized him to gather subordinates for his mission.</p><p>But it wasn’t a problem.</p><p>They would all pay.</p><p>“Oh, Lord Illidan!” joyfully claimed Vagath, deceive by Illidan’s apparent calm. “You’re here earlier than I thought. Enjoyed your gift?”</p><p>With really impressive self-control, Illidan smiled back, controlling his voice to not let the anger be shown to his new prey.</p><p>“Absolutely,” he lied, the fingers on his palm drawing blood. “I am impressed… Why doing that?”</p><p>“Oh well, she kept threatening you and us, despite having clearly lost,” began to explain Vagath. “She was a little too proud and she was refusing to admit that she was just a vulgar mortal. As she couldn’t just shut up about how she was going to get out and kill you, we thought that a little lesson was more than welcome.”</p><p>The other demons began to cackle around Illidan, but not in a threatening way. They were just really proud of what they did, and with a quick glance around him, Illidan noticed that they were all inferior demons who were no match for him. The only one that could give him some trouble in a fight was the Nathrezim, but as he was the main target, Illidan knew it wouldn’t be a problem at all.</p><p>“To be honest, we weren’t expecting her to break that easily,” continued the dreadlord, shaking his head from that disappointment.</p><p>Thankfully for Illidan, the blindfold over his eyes hid the twitch but unclenching his teeth became an ordeal once he realized that he had to talk again.</p><p>“Really? And how did you do it?”</p><p>This time, his voice had a low angry vibration but nothing enough to bother the dreadlord, though a few lower demons stepped away from him as they noticed a drop of blood falling from Illidan’s clenched fists.</p><p>“We started easily by altering her food if we were feeding her, and making sure she couldn’t get enough sleep,” explained Vagath, smiling proudly. “At the beginning, she was taking it pretty well, as she kept insulting us. But as soon as we finally got her out of her armor, it quickly changed in our favor. So, every time she was insulting someone, we made sure to beat her up, but it took us two weeks before we could do it without losing someone.”</p><p>“Yeah, she sent about ten of us back to the Twisting Nether with just her fists,” winced a satyr on Illidan’s left. “But for every death, we beat her even more.”</p><p>“Before the second week, we had taken the habit to keep beating her, to show her that she was nothing against us,” Vagath added, taking back the lead of the conversation. “One day, we even decided to keep punching her for an entire day. We were relaying each other for about twenty-four hours, and she didn’t get to rest at all from that day. At first, she wasn’t saying anything and kept glaring at us, but after the sixth hour, she finally put her head down.”</p><p>“We finally got her to scream toward the end of the third week,” cackled an imp behind Illidan. “It was so satisfying!”</p><p>A nervous smirk took over Illidan’s face. Soon, it would be their screams that he would hear.</p><p>“So, at that point, she didn’t have her armor to protect her anymore,” recapitulated Vagath, while showing said armor, trashed in a corner of the room and clearly unfit to be worn anymore. “She had no food, no sleep, and she was getting beating up regularly for a yes or a no, but she was still pretty good as your fantastic spells were keeping her alive.”</p><p>Illidan immediately lost the nervous smirk as he realized that in some way, he helped them go even further in their torture. But maybe he had also helped to keep Maiev alive, as they would have probably killed her if it wasn’t for the spell.</p><p>Just a cold consolation.</p><p>“As soon as we got her to start screaming, we also noticed that she was reacting a little more. Usually, she was more stoic and just enduring the hits, but from there, we could see her flinching and trying to avoid us. So, we knew that we were on the right path,” laughed Vagath. “As her punches were already weakening, we targeted her more psychologically and we got to drag her down about her failure and how she shouldn’t have dared to oppose you. You should have seen her face in those times, we almost got her to cry at some point.”</p><p>The crowd laughed louder at that memory, only for Illidan to stay as unfazed as he could pretend.</p><p>“And her eyes? Why removing them?”</p><p>“Oh, it was actually the best idea we had, and probably the cornerstone of our plan,” proudly smiled Vagath. “To put it in context, from the very first day, she had that awful habit of glaring at us with those murderous eyes, even when she was getting badly beaten up. Every time we were seeing those eyes, we weren’t sure that one of us wouldn’t die by her hands, and despite that we had her to start fearing us, she kept looking at us with such determination. We had to put a stop to it.”</p><p>“It cost us four more demons, but it was worth it,” said a second imp.</p><p>“Indeed,” replied Vagath. “She must have felt that something would go wrong for her that morning, as she fought us one last time. But we finally got to immobilized her against a wall, all of us holding her still to make sure she couldn’t fight back. As I approached her, she screamed and tried to keep fighting back, but we were stronger and then, I personally removed her eyes.”</p><p>Illidan glanced towards the now empty cell, imagining the scene with a proud Maiev, insulting them to the last moment until the dreadlord completely pulled out her eyes.</p><p>“You should have seen her, we had finally made her cry and it was almost as if she wasn’t begging me to not do it,” laughed Vagath, shattering Illidan’s hope right away. “And to be honest, we were planning on asking you to be there for it, but she wasn’t broken enough to bother you with that. And as soon as I crushed her second eyeball, she just let herself fall and she hadn’t been a problem since.”</p><p>“And when did you do that?” asked Illidan, the anger dwelling under the surface slowly rising, but not enough to intrigue the dreadlord.</p><p>“About two weeks ago, and then, we spent the remaining day shaping her for tonight,” proudly announced Vagath. “Now that she was fully broken, we got to do anything that we wanting with her and it had been fun to show her who was the real master here. And I really hope that she had been nice and listened to you tonight.”</p><p>“We couldn’t really make sure that she would react correctly, as Vagath had insisted that if there was one thing that we couldn’t do with her, it was to touch her sexually.”</p><p>“Yes, I decided that if there was someone who had the right to rape her, it was you –”</p><p>Before Vagath could finish his sentence, Illidan was in front of him, his hand over his face and his eyes shining with a really strong bloodlust.</p><p>“– my Lord?”</p><p>Suddenly, the back of his head met with the wall behind it, and with Illidan giving everything in that hit, the dreadlord’s body fell on the ground, a stain of blood on the wall where his head had been. Without waiting more, Illidan crushed the remnant of the dreadlord’s head with his hooves, his body shifting back once again to his metamorphosed state. Around him, the other demons were in shock, unable to move until Illidan had finished trampling the corpse, and that he turned around to look at them. With screams, they tried to run away, realizing their mistakes, but Illidan was faster than them. The imps were violently thrown against the nearest walls; the satyrs got their head ripped out, and none of those demons dared to fight back.</p><p>Covered in blood, Illidan finally stopped his slaughter as nothing was moving anymore around him, and slowly, he took back his usual form as he deadly glare at every corpse. Feeling that his anger wasn’t appeased yet, he went back to every single one of them and made sure that they were completely dead by crushing the heads of those who still had it on their shoulders. Now left alone in the silent room, Illidan fell on his knees, realizing how it had all been his fault, and that if he hadn’t waited so long to go and see Maiev, he could have stopped them before anything could happen.</p><p>He had failed her.</p><p>Failed his promise.</p><p>Glancing at her armor, he slowly stepped toward it, but the demons had made sure that she wouldn’t be able to put it back as it had been awfully damaged, and he hoped that it had happened after they took her out. Gently, he put a hand over the metal, feeling the holes and damages under his fingers. He had never feared that armor, and instead, it had always given him a warm feeling as it would mean that Maiev was taking care of her own safety thanks to the magically enhanced armor. And it was allowing her to follow him, what he had always needed. And yet, now it was just scraps of metal.</p><p>With a sad sigh, he got up and brushed his hands, wincing at the sticky feelings from the blood that was covering them, but he didn’t care much about it and made his way out of the prison, cursing himself once again to have failed Maiev. Spreading his wings, he took off to reach the Black Temple, and as soon that he stepped inside, once again everyone jumping out of his way as now, they were scared of their leader covered in blood.</p><p>After a quick passage through one of the bathrooms where he cleaned himself, Illidan was back in front of his room and he stayed at the door, unable to move and get inside. He had no doubts that Maiev was still inside, but he was still afraid to see that he hadn’t imagined her current state, and that she still would be the same as earlier. After all, even if the culprits were dead, and very dead, the damage was done.</p><p>Slowly, he pushed the door of the room and he entered. As expected, Maiev was still laying on the bed, barely moving if it wasn’t for the scared flinch as she realized that someone got into the room. Carefully, Illidan approached the bed and as he saw her clenching her fists over the sheets, he realized that he had made a mistake by not announcing that it was him.</p><p>“Maiev,” he softly whispered. “It’s me.”</p><p>And yet, it had the inverse effect as she immediately curled up on herself, trying to protect herself. After all, they had done all of that in his name, and Maiev must have thought that he had approved all of the torture that she had endured. But deep down, he was hoping that the Maiev that he knew was still there and that she would show up again and thus, without thinking twice, at soon as he had reached the bed and her, he grabbed her wrists and pinned her against the mattress. She was barely reacting but for her body becoming tensed under his touch, and even once he brought his lips on hers, she did nothing but frown out of fear and spread her legs, inviting him. Exactly what Vagath and his subordinates promised.</p><p>He had to come to terms with it.</p><p>His Maiev was gone.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi!</p><p>I have nothing in particular to add for this week so see you next week for "Parental Instinct" ^^</p><p>Otherwise, until March 8th, I'm holding a fanfiction giveaway on my Tumblr, and it's a chance to get any kind of WoW fic written by me ^^<br/>Follow the link for more information: https://thewritingof-therose.tumblr.com/post/643092765558833152 !</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>Everything was silent but for a distant drop of water, falling on the ground every few seconds, and it was almost what forced Illidan to wake up as it had been a really annoying sound. But what had really been the cause of his awakening, was the pain all over his body as he had slept on the ground directly, instead of the weird mattress cushion that had been given to him in his cell. It was at that moment that he realized that he had no memories from before his sleep, and even less of the day before, and maybe of multiple days, but it wasn’t surprising him as it had been happening quite often since he had been imprisoned. Groaning, he kept his eyes closed as he didn’t really want to see that forsaken cell too early, but he quickly realized that his arms were incredibly stiff to the point that he wasn’t even feeling the pain in them anymore, and strangely enough, there was a weight around his wrists.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Finally opening his eyes, he could see that he had been facing the bars of his cell and that he was indeed sleeping on the floor, and it surprised him for a moment as Maiev wasn’t afraid to wake him up to force him back onto the mattress in those case, but he quickly understood that it wouldn’t have been possible that night as his eyes locked with the shackles around his wrists. His arms had been put around one of the bars, and then, the shackles were preventing him from moving and going back further in the cell, but more importantly, keeping his hands clear so he wouldn’t be able to touch his body. And right under the irons, there was the weight that he had been feeling, her hands.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Maiev was laying down on the other side of the bars, wearing her armor but for the helmet and gauntlets, holding his wrists with her own hands as a way to appease him, and she was sleeping as well, probably feeling as uncomfortable as he was and it just made his heartache as he knew that it was all his fault. Carefully, he shook his hands in the hope to wake up the Warden, but instead, she just strengthened her hold around him and he could see wrinkles appearing on her forehead as she furrowed her eyebrows in her sleep.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Maiev,” he said out loud, still shaking his hands. “Wake up.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>At the sound, the Warden opened her eyes immediately and jumped awake, releasing Illidan from her grasp, despite that the shackles were still keeping him stuck around the bar, and as she locked her sight on him, she lowered her head as a way to tell him that she was sorry, without expressing it through words. Then, she took out the key of the shackles from her armor, and fully freed Illidan, who took back his hands on his side of the cell and rubbed the wrists where both the irons and hands had been holding him for hours, and then, he sat down, glancing at the Warden.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Let me guess,” he said, his voice really soft but with a slight tremor. “I tried to kill myself again?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>A sigh escaped Maiev’s lips as she avoided his gaze, and then, slowly, she nodded to agree with his statement and it was Illidan’s turn to lower his head, looking at the ground. At least, it was explaining the lack of memories as it was only happening when he was completely losing his mind from the isolation, and then he was often attempting his own life. He would have probably been found dead a long time ago if it hadn’t been for Maiev checking regularly on him and stopping him in time. Then, she was making sure that he wouldn’t try anything else until he would fully be back in his right mind by immobilizing him and staying by his side.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Maiev,” he called her, this time being the one to not look at her. “You… You should just let me die. It would be better for both of us.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I can’t do that, I promised to keep you alive.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Forget about it, you’ll be better off if I’m dead.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I can’t,” she replied, choking back tears. “I have to keep you alive.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’m just good for nothing, no one will miss me if I die, and more importantly, you could finally be freed from this place.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I made my choice a long time ago, Illidan, and I won’t come back from it.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Saying those words, Maiev finally got up and went back to get her helmet and gauntlets, laying on the floor further away from her and Illidan could see the silent tears running down her cheeks as she slowly made her way towards the entrance of the cell. Of course, Illidan couldn’t go anywhere and he just looked at the woman, staying in the entrance as she hesitated to leave.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I just don’t want you to die,” she finally admitted as she looked at him one last time.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Why?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She never replied to him and just left the cell for the day.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Clutching onto the sheets, as those memories came back to him, Illidan slowly opened his eyes and let out a really big sigh that moved his entire torso, and then, he finally noticed the small body stuck against him as he hadn’t let Maiev go at all from the night. Curled up, Maiev was making herself as small as possible to protect herself from a threat that had now disappeared, and Illidan had used his body to cover her, keeping her safe from anyone that would dare to touch her. She was still wearing those awful revealing clothes from the night before, exposing her body to him and he was only feeling sadness as his eyes walked on the remnant of the proud Warden. Not even the kiss from the night before had done anything to her, and he was hating it as he would have given anything for the Warden to punch him or at least, fight back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Slowly, he brought his hands over her hips as he made her face him and his face found her neck, where he nibbled as he carefully checked on her. As expected, she let out a scared whimper as she felt him being so close, but at no point she tried to push him away and express her discomfort, and it was the worst. Yet, he was more than perfectly aware that the real Maiev would have stopped him, just like she had already done, so long ago, and now, he was regretting that time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You really should have let me die,” thought Illidan once again as he sat next to Maiev, looking at her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Indeed, if Maiev had let him die in his cell, back in Barrow Deeps, she would have left the place a long time ago and he wouldn’t have been able to leave the place and reach the Outland. Meaning that Maiev would have never followed him and ended up in that cell at the Dreadlord’s mercy. She would have been fine. Safe. But instead, she had been extremely stubborn and refused to see him die in that cell.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Such a mistake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now that she was free from his touch, Maiev was once again curled up, probably expecting to be hit at any moment now, and she was only protecting herself the best she could do. It was pathetic and Illidan could only blame himself for it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maiev, you’re safe now,” he once again told her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No reaction.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They won’t hurt you anymore, I took care of them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Silence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please, just talk to me,” he begged, his voice shaking. “I just want to hear your voice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her body began to shake from a silent cry and yet, she wasn’t reacting as he wanted her to and Illidan felt the pinch at his heart, only wanting to cry with her as he couldn’t see any hope right away. It was completely over for him – for them – and he had no idea what to do as there was no way that he could help Maiev. He couldn’t go back in time to stop Vagath; he couldn’t kill the demon a second time; he couldn’t do anything meaningful.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Carefully, he grabbed her body and hugged it, burying his face in her neck as she kept on silently crying in his arms, and there, Illidan realized that he could just give up and end it all at that moment. All that he had to do, was to put into practice everything that he had learned about his body in Barrow Deeps and just stop moving and thinking, finally letting death take him after all those millennia, as after all, Maiev wouldn’t stop him this time. The woman was pretty much already dead and he only needed to wait for her body to follow her mind and then, it would be his turn to just die, and maybe that someone would find their corpses entangled together one day, not understanding what happened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But at least, they would finally be free.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a really sad smile, he took a deep breath and let go of all of his thoughts and then, closed his eyes and waited for death to take him – to take them both.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was the only way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lord Illidan!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Loud knocks on the door forced him to open back his eyes and he groaned loudly as he couldn’t even die in peace, and an angry growl added to it as obviously, Maiev flinched at the newcomer and tried to hide herself even more. He was going to make them pay!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Lord Illidan, the Illidari are waiting for you,” added the voice that Illidan finally recognized.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Akama.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Of course, his Illidari were waiting for him for their daily training, and he had completely forgotten about it as he was just dwelling in his self-loathing about Maiev’s state and he once again felt a pinch in his heart as he realized that he was going to abandon the Illidari, despite giving it all to prepare them to fight the Legion and its hoard of demons…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was it!</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was all the demons’ fault for Maiev’s state. If the demon had never tried to invade their home, he would have never acted as a betrayer towards his people and he would have never been imprisoned, and thus, Maiev would have never been forced to become his Warden and follow him to Outland. And it was without talking about the fact that it was indeed a demon that tortured her, and as such, every single demon was deserving death and he was going to be the one to kill them all as an act of revenge.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Reinvigorated by those thoughts, Illidan gently let go of Maiev and tucked her under the sheets as he had no doubts that without him, she wasn’t going to move at all, and then, he got out of the bed and reached the door, slamming it open so suddenly that Akama jumped out of the way and Illidan glared at him. It was also the Broken’s fault if Maiev ended up at the Black Temple, but a little voice told Illidan that he should have left Maiev in his care instead of the dreadlord.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve been busy,” Illidan replied at the silent question of the Broken. “Anyway, I’ll go to the training ground by myself. Meanwhile, I want you to find clothes for me. They need to suit a women Night Elf, you have until tonight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Understood,” bowed Akama, not sure how to react at the strange request.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Knowing that it wouldn’t be easy to find such specific clothes, Akama quickly left Illidan’s side to go search after them, and meanwhile, the Betrayer made his way towards the secret training ground where he was training his loyal Illidari. His new objective was making him impatient and for a moment, he wondered if it would be possible to find an invasion on the Outland to be able to kill demons without a care in the world, but he was already aware that it wouldn’t be the case for a few more days. The last ruined invasion had forced the Legion to be more discreet about it, and Illidan was hating it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the hours began to pass, most Illidari were almost begging for a break as Illidan was tireless that day. He was shouting and yelling everywhere, looking down at each of them with his spectral sight and making sure that none of them would step out of line. Of course, they quickly understood what was happening as they had heard rumors coming from the main building of the Temple, and how Illidan would have killed a dissident by himself the day before, and thus, it wasn’t surprising to see him testing their loyalty.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Faster! You should have taken down your opponent in half that time!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, my Lord. Sorry my Lord!” the Illidari quickly replied, helping his fighting partner back on their feet to fight again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Illidan only glared at them as he kept on walking between each group, each step that he was making echoing through the place and scaring the people around him. Yet, he wasn’t noticing it, and instead, he kept thinking about Maiev, searching for a way to bring back the fearless Warden. Deep down, she had to still be there, there was no other way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Otherwise, Illidan wouldn’t have any more reasons left to live.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Crossing his arms over his bust and leaning against a wall, Illidan began to admire his Illidari once again, feeling proud of his creation. Most of them were swift, fast, and extremely deadly thanks to their enhanced ability from being bound with a demon, and he had to admit that he actually used Maiev as a model on how he wanted the Illidari to be. They would have been the perfect opponent to give some challenge to the Warden, even if he had no doubts that the only one able to match her was him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yet, Maiev and the Illidari would be a perfect match.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Be deadlier!” Illidan yelled. “If you give any kind of opportunity to the demon, they will take it and you’re dead!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Lord Illidan!” yelled back the Illidari.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A smile spread on his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yes, he was able to count on them, and as he had their undying loyalty, they would stay by his side in his quest to exterminate all demons.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi!</p><p>This week we're on time for the update! Very sorry for the delay those last weeks.</p><p>Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter and see you next week!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The kitchen had been as busy as always with lower demons running everywhere, carrying dishes, cutlery, and ingredients, just as they had been tasked to, some of them even ready to go and deliver the evening’s food to the different people currently living in the Black Temple. With them, there was the Sin’dorei that had been appointed by Illidan and Kael’thas, before his treason, personally to cook for the entire place as they were both aware that a good meal and a roof to sleep under would get them the loyalty of half of the troop and Illidan was extremely proud of the two dozens of elves doing their best to allow everyone to eat. To add to it, Illidan had appointed not only hunter and gatherer to travel all through the Outland to find the best of food, be it meat or vegetables and fruits, and with the help of a few mages, they succeeded to create an artificial garden inside the Temple. But it wasn’t all, as, after all, the food of the Outland was extremely different from what Azeroth had been able to offer to its native and thanks to Kael’thas and his followers, they had kept a portal linking Quel’thalas and the Black Temple, and about once per week, they were able to get a taste of Azeroth once again, despite being exclusive to the Quel and Sin’dorei as a divide had appeared between them and the Kaldorei from the forced exile of their mages so long ago.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And tonight, the kitchen was in effervescence to prepare that special meal for the entire place, preparing the serving for each wing of the Temple to be delivered by the small demons, but it wasn’t the only reason that the cooks were stressing, avoiding each other’s gaze and barely talking if it wasn’t to give cooking information. Indeed, most of them were perfectly aware that Illidan was standing there, carefully looking at them without saying anything most of the time and it was unnerving as now, it had confirmed that their leader had slaughtered some dissident, though the real reason never made it to anyone. And since that day, a good week ago, he was always in the kitchen for the evening meal, watching carefully what they were doing, trying the food, and commanding them to change a few things before leaving with his personal plate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Every cook knew that a misstep would lead to death as long as Illidan would be in the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The meat needs more cooking,” Illidan said as he only cut through the piece of meat, looking at it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought you liked it bloody?” the blood elf dared to intervene.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Illidan glared at them from the side, straightening up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My taste changed. Make it medium.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As you wish, my Lord,” they replied, glad that he wasn’t forcing them to remake something completely.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>While the cook went to put back the piece of meat on the fire to make it more suitable to Illidan, the Betrayer went to walk around the kitchen again and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips as he looked at the ingredients that came from Quel’thalas. It was really his favorite day of the week as he had already noticed that the spices that they were getting from there were strong enough to make him feel the food better. After all, from his imprisonment and transformation, he had slowly lost the ability to fully taste food and it was something that he was regretting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My Lord, the meat is ready,” the cook once again intervened, presenting the plate to him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Crouching to look at it, Illidan slowly scanned every ingredient that was on the plate, trying to decide if it was enough or not, but the more he was thinking about it, the more he realized that he wasn’t adjusted to it yet. Slowly, he looked back at the cook.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I need two more pieces of meat like that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn’t go unnoticed by Illidan that the blood elf wasn’t expecting that answer as one of their eyes twitched and their ears fell as they realized that they were done with the leader any time soon, but as he also knew that without Illidan, they were pretty much already dead, the cook simply nodded and left again to finish the meal. Meanwhile, Illidan kept looking at the Azerothian’s food and an idea slowly took form in his brain and he took advantage of one of the cooks who was trying to slack off a little to put his idea into motion.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You,” he said out loud, making the poor blood elf jump out of fear.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, my Lord, what can I do for you?” he replied, sweating bullets and wondering why he had to grab Illidan’s attention.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re in contact with the people getting the food right?” Illidan asked, quickly answered by a vigorous nod from the cook. “Good, I want Kaldorei food next time, and this is not a request!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Understood! We’ll warn everyone and you’ll get it next week.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The meal is ready, my Lord,” the first cook quickly added, going next to them with the plate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a quick glance, Illidan saw that it was now exactly what he had envisioned when he came to the kitchen, and a proud smile crossed his face as he took the plate with one hand and thanked the cooks, then, he left the room and suddenly, everyone present just sighed of relief and took a one-minute break to calm down their heart. Now that their leader wasn’t there anymore to look at their every move, they went back to the preparation of the rest of the evening meal, with their mind at ease for the time being.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why do you think that he comes here every night?” One of the cooks asked while chopping a vegetable.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shush!” growled another one. “Do you want to get killed if he hears you?!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not going against him, I’m just asking why he suddenly cares about our food and makes such strange requests?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not up to us to ask or know,” another one intervened. “Let’s just do what he wants and not question him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But that’s strange!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe, but we better not say anything if we want to live.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Furrowing her eyebrows, the curious cook went back to her task. In the following hours, more and more rumors concerning Illidan and his strange behavior would make their way through the ranks of his army, adding to the one about the elite soldiers that no one could meet, training in secret, and the slaughter of the week before. But Illidan couldn’t care less about those rumors as he had more important things to do, and right now, it was exactly what he was doing as he walked back towards his room, the palm of his hand holding the plate warming up with a spell to keep the meal at the right temperature. Once in front of the door, he held his fist next to the door and hit it three times to announce his presence and then, without waiting, entered the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maiev, it’s me,” he said, not even looking towards the bed as he already knew that she was there, just as he left her earlier.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Only the rustle of the sheets as she moved around to face the door answered him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I brought you dinner,” he kept going as he finally looked at her, walking towards the bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was still laying down in the bed, barely moving through the day as she didn’t have the strength, mentally and physically, to do anything else and all that she was doing, was sleeping in Illidan’s arms, waiting for him to come back at the end of the day, and sleeping again in his arms. If she was doing anything else, it was because Illidan was forcing her to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tonight, it’s food that came from Quel’thalas,” he softly explained as he put the plate on the floor. “You should taste the difference with the other meal.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As always, silence answered him. After all, Maiev hadn’t said a single word since she outed him on that night where she had been gifted to him by the Nathrezim and the other demons in search of recognition in his army. With a discreet sigh, he brought his hand to hers, and once again, as soon as his fingers brushed over her skin, he saw her trying to pull her hand away, but she was fighting against it and he got to hold it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to carry you,” he told her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Following those words, he grabbed her and lifted her from the bed, and then, he turned around to have his back facing the bed and slowly, he went down to sit on the floor and then, proceeded to place Maiev on his laps, her back against his chest and he brought back the plate in front of them. Carefully, he cut down some meat and stuck the fork in it as he brought it slowly towards her face and pushed it against her lips. Yet, she wasn’t moving them and the piece of meat stayed on the fork.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on Maiev, you need to eat,” Illidan whispered, sadness all over his voice as he brought his second hand to her face to keep it steady. “Please, for me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She tried to lower her face, but Illidan’s hand wasn’t allowing her to do that and finally, she parted her lips and welcomed the piece of meat in her mouth, slowly chewing on it and taking what seemed to be an eternity to swallow it, but Illidan wasn’t caring about it. All that mattered was that Maiev was eating. One bite by one, he got her to eat a quarter of the plate and he softly smiled as it was more than the day before and it was just enough for now. Next to the bed, there was a flask of water that he was keeping to let her stay hydrated all day, despite that she would never drink on her own when he wasn’t there, and he took it and brought it to her lips where, thankfully, she accepted to drink right away for once. Putting it away, he left Maiev to rest against him and took back the plate to eat what was left on it. It was cold, but he couldn’t care less about it and he took his time to finish the plate, thinking about what he should be doing next.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Looking again at Maiev, he frowned as his sight locked on the blindfold. Despite that she was now wearing casual clothes, thanks to Akama who succeeded to comply with the strange request by bringing loose leathery pants and shirt, Maiev was still wearing the blindfold that the demons had put on her eyes to hide the awful sight of her empty socket. Illidan was glad for it, as he was perfectly aware that seeing them for an entire day would be enough to convince him to take his life out of remorse, but at the same time, they were reminding him of that night and it was making his blood boil.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With determination, he brought his hands to the back of her head and grabbed the knot of the blindfold, and strangely enough, it made Maiev react as her entire body straightened and got stiff as she felt the ribbon loosening and her hand grabbed his wrist. She knew why the cloth was there, and she wanted it to stay there, but Illidan had another solution.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry,” he softly said in her ears. “I’m just replacing it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now that the cursed blindfold was out of the way, Illidan grabbed his own and carried it to her face, allowing Maiev to feel protected and hiding his mistake once again. As he felt her relaxing in his embrace, he took the old piece of cloth between his hands and finally let out his anger towards it, and in a matter of a few seconds, the ribbon had turned into ashes and was no more. Keeping it in one of his hands, he gently put one of Maiev’s hands over it so she could feel the ashes too.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s over,” he told her. “There’s nothing left of them.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A weird sound escaped her lips as her body immediately started to shake, expressing the crying that she couldn’t let out normally anymore as no tears could roll down her cheeks anymore. It was as if she was crying for the entire week and even before that, and Illidan quickly embraced her in his arms, wanting to cry as much as she.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“How’s the water?” he asked, holding her wrist so her fingers would touch the water.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maiev slightly nodded, agreeing on the water’s temperature, and finally, Illidan began to pour the first buckets of warm water in the basin where Maiev was sitting, and he filled it until she could bath comfortably in it. As he could see that the warm water was getting her to relax, he kept an eye on her but went to grab a sponge and a mix of liquid that were used as soap and then, walked back to the basin and crouched to be at her level.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to start scrubbing,” he announced as he had taken the habit to warn her of almost everything that he was doing to not startle her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once again, she slightly nodded as a way to approve, and then, he grabbed her arms and lifted it above the water to get better access to it and finally, he put the sponge and the soap over her arms and began to wash her, gently going over every inch of skin as he wanted to keep her clean and also, because it was keeping them busy for a good hour, meaning it was a time where Maiev was able to move a little more and experience something else than his bed. She wasn’t even reacting when he was undressing and washing her and he kept hating it, but it was better than letting her wither without doing anything, and thus, Illidan kept doing it regularly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Deep down, he knew that Maiev was appreciating that time even if she wasn’t voicing it at all. He was ready to do anything for her, to get her back to who she was, to who she was meant to be and nothing was going to stop him. He just had to wait and find the right way to do it and thus, it was starting by making sure that she was eating, drinking, and staying clean until he would know what to do.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He moved to do her back, vigorously scrubbing it, yet staying very gentle while doing it. At the same time, he was holding her by the shoulders, afraid that she would just let herself fall in the water and let herself drown, and he couldn’t wait for the day he wouldn’t have to do it. But today wouldn’t be the day as he had already noticed that she was fighting as much as the other day, meaning that she wasn’t fighting at all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shaking his head, Illidan began to wonder as to what he should be doing next with Maiev, instead of just going back to his room and putting her back in his bed. It could have been nice to bring her outside of the Temple for a little walk, either on the secret training ground which was deserted at this time of the day, or maybe on the top of the Temple, where he liked meditating and planning the next steps of his attack of the Legion. But there was a slight problem as Maiev was still refusing to use her legs and he would have to always carry her everywhere, and even if it wasn’t bothering him, he just wanted her to be able to move on her own. To make her choice.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kill me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The voice took him by surprise and he stopped brushing her back as he just locked his sight on her, unable to process what he had just heard.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just kill me,” she repeated, her voice almost unrecognizable.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And so, it was her wish. But Illidan couldn’t accept it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maiev, no, I can’t,” he replied, whispering those words as he embraced her once again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just like the other day, her body began to cry as she only wanted the sweet release of death, but at the same time, she realized what Illidan had gone through in Barrow Deeps when he was begging her to put a stop to his life, and she couldn’t blame it to refuse.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then, what can you do for me?” she asked, her voice breaking every two words.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What could he do for her?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t know.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I hope you enjoyed it!</p><p>Unfortunately, English isn't my first language so if someone is interested in becoming my beta-reader for the language, hit me up on my Tumblr!<br/>Or if you just want to talk about WoW, my fics, someone else fics, or anything, you can still hit me up there!</p><p>https://thewritingof-therose.tumblr.com/</p><p>or on Discord</p><p>https://discord.gg/nvKggwc (An Illidan/Maiev Discord)</p><p>Later!</p><p>(Comments are welcomed and appreciated :D)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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